Management MS Program

Costello alum prepares to compete at Southeast Asian Games

Katelynn C Hipolito — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 20:51:48 +0000

Costello alum prepares to compete at Southeast Asian Games Katelynn C Hipolito Thu, 11/13/2025 - 15:51

Sidney Yap, BS Information Systems Operations Management ‘20, MS Management ‘21, Business Analytics Grad Cert ‘22, MBA ‘25, exemplifies exceptional balance—driving innovative strategies at Navy Federal while representing the Philippines internationally in the hammer throw.

Action shot from 2025 Philippine Athletic Championships. Photo by Philippines Athletic Track and Field Association (PATAFA).

As a student-athlete at ��ɫ��Ƶ, he competed in track and field for nearly five years, spanning four Costello College of Business academic programs. In addition to the hammer throw, he also competed in discus and the weight throw, an indoor equivalent to hammer. Not long after he began competing at the university, he began his career as an intern at Navy Federal. Over time, he advanced in athletics, academics, and his career—building a foundation that continues to shape his success today.

Sidney Yap. Photo provided

Now preparing for the 2025 Southeast Asian Games in Thailand this December, Yap is focused on timing his peak performance for competition. Recently promoted to enterprise data analytics consultant at Navy Federal, he starts his day early so that he can focus on his training in the evenings. As busy as he is, he prefers it that way, driven by his passion for athletics, education, and professional growth.

Balancing athletics with his career is nothing new for Yap. While at George Mason, he worked closely with professors, coaches, and managers to coordinate schedules and manage workloads. Starting his career at Navy Federal as an intern during his sophomore year, he recognizes strong parallels between athletics and his business career—both requiring discipline, strategy, and data-driven decisions.

As much as his athletics skills and habits help him in his career, his job at Navy Federal in turn opened the door to this remarkable opportunity to compete in Thailand. At a company luncheon, a manager approached him after learning about his track and field background.

“He hit me with the question—What’s next?” Yap recalls.

Sharing Filipino heritage, the manager offered to help him represent the Philippines. That conversation led to connecting with the national team coach, securing dual citizenship, and obtaining a passport. Since then, he has competed in the Philippine Nationals in 2024 and 2025. Representing his family’s heritage on an international stage adds deeper meaning to his athletic pursuits.

Sidney Yap at his MBA graduation in Spring 2025. Photo provided

Yap is appreciative of the business foundations and location of his alma mater, reflected in his decision to remain at Costello for his undergraduate and graduate programs. Originally from the area, it wasn’t until he started researching colleges to apply to in high school that he learned it was a top-notch school full of opportunity.

At Costello, he experienced being taught by high-level faculty who prepared him to succeed in his current role. One of his first courses was on organizational behavior taught by Victoria Grady, associate professor of management and director of the MS in management program.

“Classes like that help with refinement of your people skills, and I think that goes beyond how you are in the workforce because those organizational behaviors is teaching me, in my mind, how to be a better person with people I interact with in athletics and in public.”

“Classes like that help with refinement of your people skills, and I think that goes beyond how you are in the workforce because those organizational behaviors is teaching me, in my mind, how to be a better person with people I interact with in athletics and in public.”

— Sidney Yap, BS Information Systems Operations Management ‘20, MS Management ‘21, Business Analytics Grad Cert ‘22, MBA ‘25

Yap’s story reflects the unique synergy between academic excellence and athletic discipline forged at George Mason. His years as a student-athlete prepared him to navigate the demands of rigorous coursework, competitive sports, and a growing professional career—all at once. The foundation he built through Costello’s programs continues to guide him as he balances his role at Navy Federal with training for the Southeast Asian Games. As Yap sets his sights on gold in Thailand, he carries the same mindset into his professional journey—proving that excellence isn’t confined to the field but is a pursuit that spans every arena of life.

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This former rower is racing toward the finish of her accelerated master’s

sholla4 — Fri, 02 May 2025 18:40:51 +0000

This former rower is racing toward the finish of her accelerated master’s sholla4 Fri, 05/02/2025 - 14:40

Monika Blakely, BS Information Technology ’24, has lived all over the world, but her time at ��ɫ��Ƶ has been particularly special. From rowing with the women’s rowing team to working as an influencer with ShopMason, this soon-to-be double George Mason graduate has left her mark on Fairfax Campus.

Photo provided

Blakely plans to graduate in spring 2025 with a master’s in management from Costello College of Business, completed through the Bachelor’s to Accelerated Master’s Program.

What inspired you to combine information technology and management?

My long-term goal is to be a project manager, and I think it’s useful to know both the technical side and the management side to understand how to be effective as a project manager. It also gives me the flexibility to do what I want in a different career path, if that ends up being right for me. I had extra spaces in my undergraduate classes, so I added the Bachelor’s to Accelerated Master’s Program for management.

Tell me about your internships.

Currently I have two internships. The first is with Fairfax City Economic Development (FCED). I started there in fall 2023 as a social media intern. I thought local government was interesting. I’d never been involved in that industry before and wanted to learn more about who’s involved and what they do for the city. I figured I’d try it and see if I liked it, and I did! I became a marketing fellow with FCED in spring 2024, and I am now a part-time programs associate.

My second internship is with General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT). I’ve been a public relations intern there since summer 2024.

What classes would you say have set you up for success at your internships?

Senior Capstone, for one, because I think that’s been the most similar to real-world problem solving. We worked with different concentrations in the IT department. We had people doing web development, programming, cybersecurity, and so on, seeing how those different skill sets can contribute to that one broad end goal.

GBUS 653 Organizational Behavior has also been helpful, just learning about different learning styles, how your learning style can fit in with others, and so on.

How have your extracurriculars impacted your work in the classroom?

Teamwork and communication are probably the biggest things. In rowing, you have different parts of the boat, different strengths coming together, and you have to work to stay in sync. Sometimes when you work in a team, it’s not always ideal for you. You have to learn how to work with other people, how to adjust your learning style to fit with theirs, and how to make compromises with decisions that won’t be agreed on.

My roles at FCED and GDIT helped me improve my communication skills. Even if you don’t work within your team, you’re working with other sections, and you always have to cross-collaborate. So, with FCED and GDIT, you have people from different backgrounds and different departments, which taught me how to collaborate effectively across teams to deliver a clear, unified message.

ShopMason also helped strengthen my communication skills, because you’re constantly collaborating with students and departments across the university and you have to come together to share a clear and engaging message. That experience has helped me better contribute in classroom discussions, group projects, and presentations.

Blakely, 6th from left, with the staff of FCED. Photo provided.

What are you most proud of from your time at George Mason?

Being involved in different organizations and meeting a bunch of people I probably wouldn’t have connected with otherwise. I’ve been involved in organizations that reflect my culture and my studies, like the Japanese Student Association, the National Society for Black Engineers, and the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation. Connecting with students similar to me has made the university experience worth it.

What makes George Mason special?

As the daughter of military service members, I’ve lived on different military bases around the world, and I think what makes George Mason special is that it has a space for everyone. There are cultural organizations, religious groups, interest groups...everyone can find a place to belong here, and that’s not the case everywhere.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to your younger self?

If there’s a skill you want to develop or an interest you have, pursue it in undergrad when you have the time and space to do so. You never know when those skills will be useful, and if you’re passionate about your work, people will notice.

2025 Spring Commencement

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New Partnership Eases Transition to Grad School

Jennifer Anzaldi — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 15:40:22 +0000

New Partnership Eases Transition to Grad School Jennifer Anzaldi Wed, 03/16/2022 - 11:40

Matt Van Horn

The ��ɫ��Ƶ School of Business recently set up a unique admission partnership with the University of Virginia at Wise. The pathway offers students who graduate from UVA-Wise the ability to streamline their applications to the master’s in accounting, master’s in finance, and master’s in management (MSM).

The master’s in management is designed for non-business majors who seek a foundation in business management. Program benefits include access to world-class faculty, individual advising and lifelong career coaching. Over the course of 11 months, MSM students will earn a master’s in management, complete an internship (150 hours), and participate in a global residency.

"The MSM program provides a unique opportunity to combine the diverse perspectives of the non-business undergraduate degrees with the targeted foundation in both the theory and practical application of business in areas such as organizational behavior, economics, finance, marketing, and others," says Victoria M Grady, associate professor of organizational behavior and academic director of the MSM Program. "It is exciting to be part of such a dynamic program. We are thrilled to share integrated partnerships with schools such as UVA-Wise."

Matt Van Horn, a student in the (MSM) program, is the first student to come through this pathway to Mason. When asked why he chose the pathway, Van Horn says it was because of Mason’s reputation and the easy nature of the application process.

“I always knew I wanted to go to grad school, but the graduate application process can be overwhelming,” Van Horn says. “The UVA-Wise pathway was almost too good to be true. It was like a yellow brick road through all the confusion.”

According to Van Horn, the MSM program has benefits that may not be obvious initially. The business school’s Office of Career Services is a “true benefit,” he says, and the staff works closely to meet student wants and needs. He emphasizes the excellent networking opportunities with other professionals in the Washington, D.C., area.

When asked how the MSM helped him develop, Van Horn says he now has a more realistic idea of the scope of the business world and the skills he needs to continue developing to be successful. “It allowed me to take what I already knew from undergrad and build on it,” he says.

He added that the professors are friendly and want their students to succeed, which he considers a strength of the program. Van Horn’s advice for students who are considering a School of Business master’s program is to reach out to any of the staff or faculty for more information.

If you would like your college or university to benefit from a similar partnership or pathway, please contact Kevin Connor, associate director of graduate admission, strategic initiatives in the School of Business.

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Mason graduate students get consultant training through new ‘researchship’ program

ckearney — Thu, 27 May 2021 12:29:02 +0000

Mason graduate students get consultant training through new ‘researchship’ program ckearney Thu, 05/27/2021 - 08:29

Students pursuing an MS in management through ��ɫ��Ƶ’s School of Business usually spend four months getting work experience through internships at local companies. This year, however, due to the coronavirus pandemic, administrators had to think creatively. So instead, they asked local businesses what they thought of hiring students to do remote “researchships.”

“With the pandemic, we didn’t think there would be many of your typical internships, so we had to innovate,” said Victoria Grady, associate professor of management and director of the management program. “We reached out to businesses in Arlington and asked them if they wanted students who could research and provide answers to specific questions they had.”

The 11-month, 36-credit program, which begins in August and finishes in July, generally has around 35 students attending each year. The program focuses on the fundamentals of business management in a global environment. The internship is a key part of the program, so administrators were concerned that students would lose out on a valuable opportunity to put classroom theory to practice in a corporate environment.

Kimberly Blue, graduate career manager at the School of Business, reached out to the Arlington Chamber of Commerce and various businesses, and found that, despite the pandemic, some businesses wanted to do more of a traditional internship. Other businesses, however, were intrigued by the idea of students researching particular topics from remote locations. She described the researchship as similar to being a consultant. Both researchships and internships are paid.

Six businesses chose the researchship model, with professional services firm Dixon Hughes Goodman and Arlington Community Federal Credit Union taking two students each.

Lawrence Hailes, who graduated Mason in 2015 with a BA in music, was working as an actor in local productions when the pandemic hit. He decided to pivot into the corporate world so that he had some job stability. Hailes’ researchship is with Dixon Hughes Goodman.

“I have been looking at questions around restructuring post-pandemic,” said Hailes. “I’m looking into trends—what are other companies doing? Are they going virtual or hybrid, and how are they keeping their employees connected?”

Each week, Hailes receives questions about “what they want me to dig into” and then on Fridays he makes presentations and recommendations related to his research.

“I think I give the firm a fresh perspective,” said Hailes. “And the researchship allows me to delve into a topic, learn about the corporate world and then communicate my findings in a succinct way for a broad audience.”

Hailes adds, “Being an actor has paid off because I’m not shy about presenting to people.”

Clare Sullivan, who graduated with a degree in social work from Virginia Commonwealth University, said that her researchship at Arlington Economic Development has allowed her to study in depth urban agriculture.

“I’ve learned about the impact that urban agriculture can have, how it brings jobs and education and access to food,” said Sullivan. “And I’ve gotten to work with great people who love their jobs.”

Blue said that both the businesses and the students appear to be gaining from the researchship model. She expects the program to offer both researchships and internships post-pandemic.

“By thoroughly examining important topics, students are making a real difference for their employers,” said Blue.